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Born Birmingham, 21st February 1899. Educated Cotton College, Oscott, the Venerable English College and the Beda. He was ordained in 1924 and 3 years later became Secretary for 10 years to the Archbishops of Birmingham. He was Chancellor of the Diocese at 30 and a notable Administrator of its charitable homes.

In 1938 he was made Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham and during the War period succeeded Hinsley as Archbishop of Westminster, 1943-1956. He was created Cardinal Priest of Santi Andrea e Gregorio Magno on 18 February 1946.

His links with social welfare helped him deal with the new post-war Labour Government as it carried out sweeping and widespread social reforms. He journeyed frequently abroad on Church affairs until stricken by illness that hampered his last years. He died on 20 August 1956, at the age of 57.

Born 26th January 1905, of parents both born themselves in the Parish of Clareen in Ireland. In infancy he was taught by Ursuline nuns who termed him 'Jackie Lantern'. He went to St. Ignatius College, Stamford Hill, London to be educated by the Jesuits and from there at 17 went on to Ushaw, which then had large numbers of ex-Servicemen. At the age of 19 he entered the Venerable English College where his acting and impersonation exploits became legendary. He was ordained in his own Ilford Parish Church and sent as Curate to St. Ethelburga's, Barking, Essex.

In 1937 aged 32, he became Parish Priest of Manor Park where he was to remain throughout the war until 1947. During these years of shared joy and suffering with his people he re-lived his childhood experiences when Zeppelins had lazily floated over London to drop primitive bombs. Now, however he was pulling trapped victims out of blitzed and burning buildings, putting out fires in his own parish school and spending nightly vigils at the local Fire Station. In 1940 he began broadcasting on the service to America - in a series called 'Britain Speaks'. He gave many talks on programmes for the Forces. He became known for his newspaper articles and public speaking.

While a Parish Priest he published five books; the best known being one about his former Rector in Rome, Cardinal Hinsley.

In 1947 he became Head of the Catholic Missionary Society when it was re-organising after the war. He gathered a strong team around him including two former VEC colleagues, G P Dwyer (later Archbishop) and T Holland (later Bishop). They used a motorised Chapel with loudspeakers for this. He was now in constant demand for talks and retreats. Much of his material he published in a new book, The People's Priest. As the book came into the shops he was named Bishop of Leeds.

His priests could now read their destiny. He brought instant activity to a Diocese that had previously had an ailing Bishop. Clergy were moved about rapidly and the Diocese earned the nickname 'the cruel see'. Choosing to live close to his people he was part of the Cathedral staff, he instituted an Open Day each Friday when anyone could see him without appointment.

New churches sprang up in this post-war era and his flock were most distressed to lose him to Liverpool in 1951 as Archbishop. He pushed for the building of the neglected Cathedral and launched a competition for the best design, which resulted in the consecration in 1967 of that unique Liverpool shape dominating the University skyline. By then Heenan had moved on to Archbishop of Westminster 1963-1975, and was created Cardinal Priest of San Silvestro in Capite on 22 February 1965.

He attended the Vatican Council, 1962-1965 where he was cautious yet determined about implementing its decisions. He set up both a Senate of Priests and a Pastoral Council and also a College for training religious teachers in the new thinking. The latter had a chequered existence. He sought fresh links through his own friendship with the Chief Rabbi and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

He led the Bishop's Conference on public statements about moral issues and was an outspoken opponent of abortion, contraception and euthanasia. These topics had just come alive as social phenomena.

At Rome he was a member of the Sacred Congregation for Bishops and also of the Pontifical Commission for the Revision of the Code of Canon Law. In 1967 he suffered a serious illness and for the next 6 years had to fight much ill-health. Heart attacks in 1973 and 1974 eventually led to his death on 7 November 1975 aged 70.

Born 25th August 1865, at Carlton near Selby, Yorkshire. Son of a local carpenter and an Irish mother. His Parish Priest, who assisted at Carlton Towers, a nearby residence of the Norfolk Family, sponsored his education and at the age of 11 he set off for Ushaw. Whilst a student there he secured his BA degree from London University. He then came to the Venerable English College as a student to take further degrees and was ordained in 1893, aged 28. He then returned to Ushaw to teach there for 4 years, but in 1900 he founded a Laity-sponsored School, St. Bede's Grammar School, in Bradford and became its first Headmaster. The school prospered but led to differences between Hinsley and his Bishop. Consequently Hinsley moved to Southwark Diocese. After 13 years combining parish work with lecturing at Wonersh, he was made Rector of the VEC and worked in Rome, 1917-1928. He bought Palazzola and had its swimming pool built. Created Bishop of Sardis, 1927 and sent as Apostolic Visitor to Africa where after 7 years, ill-health caused him to retire. He became a Canon of St Peter's and there expected to end his days. To the surprise of many he was called out of retirement on the death of Cardinal Bourne to become the fifth Archbishop of Westminster on 25th March 1935. He was created Cardinal Priest of Santa Susanna on 16 December 1937. He denounced the Hitler Regime, founded the Sword of the Spirit as an ecumenical venture to rally the churches against totalitarianism and became famous in all homes for his wartime radio chats and stirring encouragement when Britain stood alone. He died on 17 March 1943, at the age of 78.

St Edmund's College was originally founded in Douai, in 1568, by Cardinal William Allen. Originally intended as a seminary to prepare priests to work in England, it soon also became a boys' school for Catholics, debarred from having such institutions in their own country. During the French Revolution, the College transferred to England to the 'Old Hall Academy' in Hertfordshire, 1793. The Academy was then renamed St Edmund's College. The era of Vicars Apostolic ended in 1850 with the restoration of the Hierarchy. In 1869 the Archbishop of Westminster, Henry Edward Manning, set up a seminary in
Hammersmith, and so for the first time St Edmund's ceased to be a theological
college. In 1874, during the Presidency of Monsignor James Patterson, the junior boys were separated from the rest of the College into Saint Hugh's Preparatory School, in a house originally built by Pugin for the Oxford convert WG Ward. In 1893, his son, Bernard Ward, was appointed President of the College and he started a scheme of rebuilding and improvements.

The College continued as a boys' school and seminary until 1975, around the same time as girls from the adjacent Poles Convent were first admitted into the Sixth Form. The College became fully co-educational in 1986.

The Vicariate Apostolic of the London District was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church in England, 1688-1850. There were four Catholic jurisdictions in England and Wales: the London District, the Western District, the Midland District and the Northern District.

The Vicars Apostolic of the London District were:

Bishop John Leyburn, (1688-1702), formerly Vicar Apostolic of England (1685-1688)

Bishop Bonaventure Giffard, (1703-1734)

Bishop Benjamin Petre, (1734-1758)

Bishop Richard Challoner, (1758-1791)

Bishop James Robert Talbot, (1781-1789)

Bishop John Douglass, (1790-1812)

Bishop William Poynter, (1812-1827)

Bishop James Yorke Bramston, (1878-1836)

Bishop Thomas Griffiths, (1836-1847)

Bishop Thomas Walsh, (1847-1849)

Bishop Nicholas Wiseman, (1849-1850), later Archbishop.

St Gregory's was a small college belonging to the English secular clergy founded in Paris in the late 17th century. Its main purpose was to enable suitable ecclesiastics who had completed their training at Douai or the other colleges abroad to pursue advanced studies at the Sorbonne before working on the mission to England. It closed in 1786.

The 'English Mission' was an unofficial term for the pastoral activity of the Catholic Church in England from the reign of Elizabeth I to the restoration of the hierarchy in 1850.

Priest's registers: Before the restoration of the hierarchy many individual priests, as opposed to parishes, often kept registers covering diverse geographical areas.

Born Gloucester 1832 of an ancient family, the Vaughans of Courtfield. His mother was a convert. Five of her seven sons became priests and all six daughters became nuns. He was educated at Stonyhurst and the Jesuit College of Brugelette in Belgium. At the age of 19, he attended the Accademia in Rome where he met Manning. His health was not good so he was ordained early at 22 and Wiseman appointed him to St Edmund's College, Ware, as Vice-Rector.

He started with vision the great Missionary College of Mill Hill and toured widely in the USA to raise funds for it. He bought The Tablet and edited it for a time. In 1870 at the age of 40 he was made Bishop of Salford; Archbishop of Westminster 1892-1903; Created Cardinal Priest of Santi Andrea e Gregorio Magno on 16 Jan 1893. His titular Church was St Andrew and St Gregory on the Coelian Hill.

In 1895 he laid the foundation stone of Westminster Cathedral, desiring that the Benedictines should regularly sing Office there. He founded the Crusade of Rescue for needy children. He wrote The Young Priest. He died in 1903 aged 71.

During the Second World War the Wellcome Foundation laboratories at Frant, East Sussex, were engaged in work for the Ministry of Supply, producing scrub typhus vaccine for the armed forces. The project was given the wartime codename of 'Tyburn' after Tyburn Farm, the farm at the Wellcome Veterinary Research Station there. The project was organised by the bacteriologist Marinus van den Ende (1912-1957), serving with the RAMC: his obituary in the Lancet states that "his greatest achievement in England was the organisation of the laboratory at Frant for the large-scale production of scrub typhus vaccine, exacting and dangerous work which he carried out with great speed and precision"

Until 1856, the Vestry of Battersea was an open vestry, including all the ratepayers and with the Vicar as chair. After the 1855 Metropolis Management Act, the parish ceased to be seen as a rural parish and began being classed as a part of London. The Vestry was set up, and classed as part of the Wandsworth District Board of Works, along with Clapham, Wandsworth, Putney, Streatham and Tooting, where it had 12 representatives. The Highway Board and Inspectors of Lighting for Battersea were superseded, and their powers passed to the District Board of Works. From 1877 to 1887 various attempts were made to incorporate Battersea in its own right and after the Metropolis Management (Battersea and Westminster) Act, 1887 Battersea ceased to be represented on the Wandsworth District Board of Works and Battersea Vestry was incorporated. This meant it took on responsibility as the Sanitary, Highway and Sewer Authority for the parish and had to elect vestry-men. In 1888 the Vestry took possession of offices in Battersea Rise, purchasing them from the District Board of Works and in 1891 purchased the Elm Hill Estate on Lavender Hill to build a new Town Hall. The building, designed by E Mountford, was opened in 1893. The 1899 London Government Act wound up the vestry system and created Metropolitan Borough Councils, which took over from 1900.

These are the main title deeds for the West Hill Estate, Wandsworth, which extended from West Hill in the north to what are now Gressenhall Road and Granville Road in the south. Later additions extended it on the west to Tibbets Corner, and on the east and south-east into South Field. Later still, a large part of the Spencers' Wimbledon Park was added to the south. The deeds end with this purchase by the second Duke of Sutherland in 1838. In the next decade the estate was purchased by John Augustus Beaumont for building development. The estate was first purchased, as part of the demesne of the manor of Downe, from the Duke of Bedford in 1759. The new owner was Mrs Penelope Pitt, wife of George Pitt (who later became Lord Rivers) and sister and heiress of Sir Richard Atkins of Clapham Bt. She sold it in 1786 to Sir Samuel Hannay, a Scottish baronet. Mrs Pitt had built a mansion house called West Hill House on the estate, but had not extended the grounds. John Anthony Rucker, a merchant originally from Hamburg, who bought the estate in 1789, and all later owners added to the lands by purchase. In 1804 Daniel Henry Rucker inherited the estate from his uncle; it was settled in trust on his marriage to Caroline Gardiner in 1805, and eventually put on sale by public auction in 1825. The main purchaser, by private contract before the auction, was George Granville Leveson-Gower, Marquess of Stafford, later 1st Duke of Sutherland. He, through his wife the Countess of Sutherland in her own right had added most of the county of Sutherland to his vast estates in the north of England.

On his death in 1833, his son the second Duke inherited.

The 28th County of London (Wandsworth) Battalion Home Guard was established on 11 November 1940. It was made up of volunteers from the V Battalion, men from four companies which had been raised as Home Guard Units by Wandsworth Borough Council and men from factories within the new Battalion area including Young & Co. Ltd at Ram Brewery. The Commanding Officer was Lt Col Sanders until 1942 when Major J Black took command. Many of the men in the Home Guard had seen service during World War I. The Battalion participated in civil defence duties during the War particularly helping the Air Raid Wardens during and after bombing raids. In 1942 the Battalion became responsible for Wimbledon Common and a company from the Wimbledon Home Guard Battalion was transferred to the join the Wandsworth Company. The Battalion was comprised of approximately 2000 men of all ranks and it is estimated that during its existence over 6000 served in it. The Battalion was disbanded following a final parade on Sunday 22 October 1944 although many men became members of the Home Guard Social Club and took part in anniversary parades at Ram Brewery until 1982.

Florence Mary Turtle was born on 19th November 1896 in Lambeth, the daughter of Charles E and Florence AM Turtle. After living in Hackney and Fulham, where Florence attended Sherbrooke Road School, the family settled at 135 Putney Bridge Road, Putney, where Mrs Turtle ran a fur shop. In 1917 Florence got a job at Finsbury Library, and then at a branch of W H Smith, before going to work in Harrods book department in 1921. In 1923 she started working at John Barkers department store in Kensington, and by 1929 had become the buyer for the book department. As well as this, she subsequently became a buyer for Barkers' sister store, Derry and Toms. In 1930, at the age of 34, Florence moved out of Putney Bridge Road and into 9 Ranelagh Gardens Mansions, Fulham, where she lived with her younger sister Barbara. Two years later, Florence, Barbara, and their brother Bernard moved into 28 Kingscliffe Gardens, Southfields. In 1933 Florence started volunteering on Saturdays at St James' Hospital in Balham where she would distribute books to the patients. Florence was an avid reader and took an interest in a wide range of subjects, taking evening classes at various times in French, German, public speaking, creative writing, and mothercraft. She occasionally wrote articles on bookselling and related subjects for publications such as 'The Publisher and Bookseller'. She was a member of the Book Craft Guild, serving as chairman in 1929/30. In 1938 she became a member of the Buyers Association of Great Britain. In 1941 Florence became the stationary buyer for British Home Stores, where she worked at their Baker Street headquarters until retiring in 1960. Throughout her life, Florence attended St Etheldreda's church in Fulham, where she was an active member of the choir. She also enjoyed going to the theatre, walking on Wandsworth and Wimbledon Commons, holidaying in the countryside, gardening, and having baths. She was an admirer of antiques, ornaments, and beautiful furniture, and enjoyed visiting the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Her lifelong friends since school were Connie Cowgill (nee Bishop) and Gwen Foot. She never married, and continued to live at Kingscliffe Gardens with her brother Brian until her death in 1981.

Geoffrey Haines was born in Barrow-in-Furness in 1899 before his family moved to London. He was educated at St Paul's school. In December 1917 he joined the Inns of Court Officers Training Corps at Whitehall before being sent to Cambridge. In 1918 he had a severe case of Spanish Influenza and subsequently never saw action. After the war he moved to London and worked firstly as an account in his father's company before getting a job as accountant with the London Association for the Blind where he was to remain for the rest of his career. He married Olive in June 1927 and they moved into a house in Balmuir Gardens Putney before moving to Larpent Avenue in Putney in 1934. Their daughter Anne was born in 1928. During World War Two Geoffrey was an Air Raid Warden for the B7 division in Putney and later became a Bomb Reconaissance Officer alongside his wife Olive. The Warden's Reporting Post was in his front room at Larpent Avenue. In 1956 Olive Haines was appointed Mayor of Wandsworth and their daughter Anne was her Mayoress. He had a keen interest in antique coins and he built up an impressive coin collection which he sold to the Barber Institute at the University of Birmingham in 1965. He received an OBE in 1968 and was also made Vice-President of the Blind Association after thirty-seven years of working there. He was the Treasurer of the Royal Numismatic Society and was a member of numerous other institutions. Geoffrey was also involved with the Masons and held several key positions at the Lux in Tenebris lodge and within the larger organisation including Deputy Chair of the Royal Masonic Institute, a position he held for 18 years. He died on 14 September 1981.

The Eileen Lecky Clinic was founded as the Putney Branch of the Mothers' Welcome, but was renamed the Putney Infant Welfare Centre by 1922. The Putney Infant Welfare Centre was based at 104 Felsham Road. There was also a Putney Park Branch Infant Welfare Centre on Merton Road. In 1931 the centre moved to new premises at 2 Clarendon Drive and was renamed the Childrens' Health Centre. The Children's Health Centre was divided into two sections: infant welfare and school treatment. During the Second World War, the buildings at Clarendon Drive were occupied by Wandsworth Borough Council for use as a gas decontamination and first aid post. The infant welfare services temporarily moved to the Putney Day Nursery, Lacy Road as well as 2 class rooms at the Putney Church School and the Girls Hall at St Mary's School. These premises suffered bomb damage in early 1944, and the Health Centre relocated again, occupying part of their own building on Clarendon Drive. After the end of the Second World War, the Health Centre once again occupied the whole building at 2 Clarendon Drive.

The organisation was initally administered by a Trust, relying on volunteers to provide services to the community. The Centre became part of the National Health Service in 1948 but continued to be administered by the Trust until 1958. The Betty Rawson Home in Whitstable was taken over by Wandsworth Council in 1947 and renamed the Peace Memorial Home, Whitstable (in memory of Betty Rawson). In 1958 the Health Centre was handed over to London County Council and inherited by Wandsworth Borough Council in 1965. The Borough Council later renamed the Health Centre in memory of the long standing (Hon) Secretary, Eileen Lecky.

The Union Church, Putney was two churches, which joined in October 1900 - the Upper Richmond Road Union Church, and the Oxford Road Congregational Church. In 1972 the Church joined with the Presbyterian Church and became Putney United Reformed Church.

Edward Thomas was born on 3 March 1878 in Lambeth, and was educated at Battersea Grammar School, St Paul's School and Lincoln College, Oxford. He married in 1899, and began writing reviews for newspapers and magazines, particularly the Daily Chronicle. Despite regular reviewing work he had consistent financial worries, and made several attempts to find alternative work, few of which were successful. He suffered from depression for several years, including considering suicide, and spent time away from his family in the care of doctors in attempts to recover. In 1915 he decided to enlist in the Army, and was killed in action during the Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917.

Anthony Kersting was an architectural photographer, who was born and grew up in 37 Frewin Road, Wandsworth, on 7 November 1916. He attended Dulwich College and then worked in Lloyds Bank, Sloane Square, before turning to photography full-time. In 1939 he volunteered for the RAF and in 1941 was posted to a photographic unit in Egypt, where he took the opportunity to travel. After the war he became well known as an architectural photographer, and died on 2 September 2008, aged 91.

Wandsworth Central Labour Party was renamed Tooting Labour Party in 1971.

William Halle was born in Hastings in 1912, and lived there with his mother and sister, Annette. His father left when he was a child. From the 1960s, possibly earlier, he lived at 7a Mexfield Road, Wandsworth and also had an art studio in Battersea. He worked as an artist and at the Telephone Exchange, possibly because his paintings were not successful enough for him to be an artist full-time. He also wrote novels, and made several attempts to get them published. Also living in 7a Mexfield Road were Julia and Norman McLachlan, referred to by Halle Norman as Mac. Mac was a great friend of Halle's until Mac's death in 1984, which Halle mourned deeply. Halle moved to Olive Haines Lodge in 1990 and died in February 1998. The majority of Halle's friendships were with other men, with whom he often maintained life long friendships, he also records sexual relationships with various men right up until his death. Despite his sister living in South Africa, they clearly remained very close, and he often worried about her and tried to regularly send her money.

The Wandsworth Area Social Democratic Party (SDP) was set up in 1981. The Party was active until 1988 when the SDP merged with the Liberal Party. In the years in which the party was active they worked closely with the Liberal Party in the area to forming the SDP/Liberal Alliance to run at Local and General elections.

The Upper Tooting Methodist Church first began meeting in a temporary structure in Upper Tooting in February 1869, and the first permanent building on that site was opening in November 1879. The Church was destroyed by a flying bomb in July 1944 and subsequently re-built, opening again in February 1857.

Architects firm, Andrew Carden and W E Godfrey, ARIBA, 120 Chancery Lane, WC2.

Cecil Tudor Davis was born in 1854 at Upton St Leonards near Gloucester. After working as the senior officer at Birmingham Reference Library, he moved to Wandsworth in 1886 to take up the position of Librarian of Wandsworth, based at West Hill Public Library. He held this position for 34 years before retiring in 1920. He died following a short illness in 1922. He lived at 55 West Hill and was married twice with five children. He was very interested in local history and wrote many articles and frequently gave lectures on the subject, as well as collecting books and documents relating to Wandsworth.

Tooting Bec Hospital, just off Tooting Bec Road, was opened in 1903. It specialised in mental health care for the aged. Friends of Tooting Bec Hospital were active between 1961 and 2002. They were a group of volunteers who visited patients at the hospital, organised fundraising activities and tried to raise awareness of the work of the hospital and mental health issues. From 1995 they changed their name to The Bec Community Friends. The hospital was closed in 1995.

St James' Infirmary, Sarsfeld Road, was opened by the Wandsworth Board of Guardians in 1910. It was linked to the nearby St James' Workhouse. In 1922 it was renamed St James' Hospital. There was an additional entrance in to the hospital in Ouseley Road. In 1930 the London County Council took over the management of the hospital. In 1948 with the introduction of the National Health Service the hospital passed in to the hands of the Wandsworth Hospital Group. It continued to expand steadily during this period, with the construction of a new Outpatients Department in 1953 followed by a new Central Block. The hospital closed in 1988 after merging with St George's Hospital, Tooting. The site was sold and the buildings demolished.

William Poel was an actor, theatre manager and dramatist, who lived in Amersham Road, Putney for a time. His surname was originally Pole, but he changed it following a misspelling on a theatre billing. In 1895 he founded the Elizabethan Stage Society, and he spent a lot of his career researching and lecturing on Elizabethan performance. He died at his home, 85 Howard's Lane, Putney, on 13 December 1934. He was cremated at Golders Green.

Please contact the Archive for further information.

Wilson's Garage was located on Spanish Road, Wandsworth Common.

Please contact the Archive for further information.

The Florian Lady Singers was founded in the early 1930s. The group of singers competed in and won many local and national competitions. The choir was conducted by John Booth and then by Doctor Durrant. It became an adult edcuation class which met at the West Hill Institute. The choir had other conductors following the retirement of Doctor Durrant but closed in the 1950s. Mollie Simmonds was a member of the choir from the 1930s until its closure. Following the closure of the choir, she joined the Balham Townswomen's Guild choir. She also played the cello in the West Hill Orchestra, the Wandsworth Symphony Orchestra and the Putney Symphony Orchestra.

The Wandsworth Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1973 although it can trace its origins back to a group of musicians who met at the Putney Literary Institute in 1918. The Orchestra is made up of advanced amateur musicians and two professional musicians. The Orchestra rehearsed weekly at St Mary's Church, Putney and has been led by Keith Stent who has been with the Orchestra since 1963. Mollie Simmonds played cello in the Orchestra.

Deposited by the British Records Association, no 2447.

T H Adamson and Sons was founded around 1790 in Chiswick, by Thomas Adamson, and was re-named T H Adamson and Sons in 1852, by the original founder's son, Thomas Henry Adamson, with works at Putney, Chiswick and Ealing. The Putney works were at 129 Putney High Street, the site of Essex House, which was demolished in 1872. As well as general building works, the firm also carried out decorative works, and had a showroom at 145 Putney High Street. They were responsible for the stonework on the Cromwell Statue in Westminster Hall Gardens and the Gladstone Memorial on the Strand, as well as repairs to the Clerestorys and the construction of a new Rose Window in Westminster Abbey. The firm worked on several churches, including All Saints, Putney and Trinity Church, Streatham, as well as the Regal Cinema in Putney and Westminster School.

Councillor John Garrett was Deputy Mayor of Wandsworth in 1984-1985 and in 1998-1999. He was Mayor of Wandsworth in 1988-1989 and 2000-2001.

Stanley Bollans was born in 1911. He lived at Penwith Road, Southfields and attended Wandsworth Technical Insitute. He was a keen cyclist and athlete and was a member of the Wandsworth Technical Institute Cycle Club.

Herbert Thomas Charles Battcock was born around 1896. He married Gladys Matthews in Wandsworth in 1921, but was widowed before any children were born. In 1939 he married Aileen O'Callaghan, and a daughter, Celia, was born in 1944.

In a deed of 1922 (D157/3/5) his occupation is given as 'printer', and in 1927 'printers machine manager'. By the time of the Second World War he was working in the Foreign Office, and belonged to the Home Guard. He retired from the Civil Service in 1962.

Herbert Battcock was initiated into the Freemasons Lodge of Affinity in 1927, and was a founder member of the Earlsfield Lodge which was consecrated on 10 October 1938. He received honorary membership of the Earlsfield Lodge in 1979. He died in 1981.

Martin Colin Tupper was born on 20th June 1950 in St James Hospital, Balham. From 1954 to 1960 he attended Hearnville Primary and Balham Central [Chestnut Grove] schools. In 1967 he joined the Libraries Department of Islington Borough Council, where he developed his interest in local history and archaeology. He remained there until his last illness in 2006.

He was a resident of Balham and active in the local Labour Party, which he joined in 1970. He was elected a Wandsworth Borough Councillor in 1986 and combined his interests in local history with membership of the Clapham Society, the Co-operative Movement and the Socialist Educational Movement. He was also connect4ed with the Battersea Churches Chairty and Battersea Combined Charities. Within the Labour Party, he was chair of the Nightingale Ward of Battersea Labour Party 1975-1977. He became secretary of Balham Ward 1978-1982, and publicity officer for the same ward in 1982. He became secretary of Battersea Labour Party 1982-1985. He was chair of Balham Ward 1991-1992, and vice chair towards the end of the 1990s. He attended some meetings of Wandsworth Labour Group in the 1980s, possibly in his capacity as councillor.

He was a governor of Alderbrook Primary School, Balham, 1973-2002, taking the role of vice chair and chair at various times through the 1980s and 1990s. He was a governor of Chestnut Grove School, formerly Hydeburn School, Balham, 1977-2005, taking the role of chair 1981-1984, vice chair 1988-1989, and chair of the exclusions panel 1998-1999. He was a governor of Hearnville Primary School, Balham, 1973-1991.

Wandsworth Common is an important historic common, the remains of more extensive commonland which earlier went by a number of names including Battersea West Heath and Wandsworth East Heath.

It was part of the wastes of the Manor of Battersea and Wandsworth; by the 19th century it had been sub-divided by the railway and encroached upon by building as London was developed, with some 53 enclosures between 1794 and 1866. The larger areas enclosed were taken for building the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building, the industrial school of St James, Allfarthing Piece, McKellar's Triangle, the Justices of Surrey.

Attempts by local people to preserve the common against further encroachment began in earnest in 1868 when appeals were made to the metropolitan board of works to take over responsibility, following the metropolitan commons act of 1866, but this was initially unsuccessful. In 1870 a common defence committee was set up, later to become the Wandsworth Common preservation society. Action was taken in April 1870 to try and keep Plough Green open and in the months following fund-raising efforts and lobbying of support accelerated. Eventually Earl Spencer, Lord of the Manor, agreed to transfer most of the common to the defence committee excluding the area which later became Spencer Park. A bill went through Parliament in July 1871, the Wandsworth Common Act, and the common was then transferred to a group of conservators elected by inhabitants of Battersea and Wandsworth for a £250 annuity paid to Earl Spencer. This annuity and maintenance costs were raised by a special rate levied of the inhabitants.

In 1887 responsibility transferred to the Metropolitan Board of Works who carried out a number of improvements including planting, paths layout, creation of the ornamental lakes from old gravel pits as well as the smaller Three Island Pond near Bolingbroke Grove. In 1898 the common became the responsibility of the new London County Council who in 1912 purchased an area of 20 acres of open land to extend the common. This had belonged to the Royal Patriotic Fund Company but prior to the 1850s had been part of the common. The cost of £12,000 included building a wall between the open space and the Royal Patriotic Fund Company's land. However, before this area could be provided for the public's use, it was taken over in World War One for the third London General Hospital by the Government. When it was reinstated after the war, facilities were provided including a bowling green and tennis courts.

In 1971 responsibility for the common transferred to Wandsworth Council. (From the Wandsworth Council website, courtesy of the London Historic Parks and Gardens Trust).

Harry Frederick Cusden was born in Balham on 30 June 1870. His father Jonathan Cusden was a builder and later opened an off-licence at High Street, Tooting, near Longley Road. Jonathan Cusden was also a member of the old Tooting Vestry and was one of the first members of the Wandsworth Borough Council. Harry left school to work his father's business which had expanded to also sell groceries. Harry married Gertrude Mountier in September 1896 in Tooting Church. They first lived above the shop but later moved in to her family home in Devonshire Road, Colliers Wood. In 1893 Harry opened his own grocery shop in Longley Road, Tooting. He added an off-licence to the shop and as the area around Longley Road expanded so did the business. He added a butcher's department and greengrocery and soon had a row of shops in Longley Road. His business expanded and he opened 8 branches, including ones in St John's Hill, Clapham Junction; Garratt Lane, Earlsfield; Oldridge Road, Balham; Mitcham and Wimbledon. He was assisted by his two sons Harry and Fred. He also owned other properties in the borough. Harry was a founding member of the Balham and Tooting Traders' Association and was its chairman in 1904 and 1914. He also founded the Balham and Tooting Grocers' Association and during World War I initiated a system of group buying by local grocers. He was also a member of the Off-Licences Association and served as chairman for a time. He was elected to the Council of the National Federation of Off-Licence Holders' Associations in 1927 and served as chairman in 1929, 1939 and from 1943-1945. Harry was a close associate of A.J. Hurley. Hurley convinced him to stand as Councillor and they ran for election together. Harry's brother Albert also served on the Council for a while. Cusden and Hurley founded the Balham and Tooting branch of the National Federation of Demobilised Sailors and Soldiers after World War One, which afterwards became the local branch of the British Legion. Harry also served on the Mitcham Urban District Council following his move there. He was seriously injured in a car crash on Balham High Road in 1921. Harry remained in business through out the war. He was taken ill in December 1946 and took a step back from the business although remained interested. Many of his employees had been with him since they left school. He had two sons and a daughter who took over the running of the business on his death. Harry Cusden died aged 76 on 29 March 1947. He is buried at London Road cemetery, Figges Marsh.

William Tarlton Rayment Jackson was born in 1856, the son of a chemist, and married Mary Emily Bruton on 15 September 1888, in the parish church of St Andrew, Holborn. Their son Hugh was born in 1890 and their daughter Mary Marguerite - sometimes referred to as Daisy - in 1893. William, known to his wife as Jack, was a commercial traveller for the firm of Blundell, Spence and Co, who manufactured paint. Jackson also had a sister, Louise, to whom he occasionally wrote and also refers to his wife's younger sister Rose. The family seemed to suffer from financial worries, as this is a regular theme within the letters and Jackson makes clear that he has undertaken his long business trips abroad to try and get the family out of these difficulties. Mary Emily was known as Emily, or affectionately by Jackson as "wifie", and was born in Derbyshire in 1856. From the 1881 census she appears to have been a school teacher prior to her marriage.

Blundell, Spence and Co were a Hull firm, who had offices at Anchor Wharf, 9 Upper Thames Street, London. Jackson refers to other employees of the firm, including Bob Cooke and Richmond.

Susan Ward was a Labour councillor until May 1978.

Later became known as the London Insurance Committee.